AIBU What age is ok to do this and why don't kids understand lie ins? (lighthearted)

[waffilyversati1e]

Picture the scene. It's anywhen between 04:30 and 06:30 hrs. You are snoozing in your nice warm bed when you hear the sound of a door creaking open. It's your 4 year old. He is ready for the day and gives not a fuck that it is a saturday bloody morning or that you went to bed later than expected due to a surprisingly captivating Netflix series (I am looking at you Umbrella Academy).

Do you
a) sigh deeply, scowl at your still snoring husband and follow the 4 yr old downstairs with a far flung dream of stealing back some zzz's sometime?
or
b) do what your husband suggested last time and send the 4yr old off downstairs on his own for an hour to play with his tablet effectively hitting the snooze button on parenting.

(if you answer a, at what age would your answer change to b?)

Our times are skewed by the time school starts here (we are out of the house at 6.45 in the week), but noone can read before 5.15, and noone can get up before 5.45. This applies week days and weekends, but no alarm st the weekend!
From age 6, with his 4 yr old brother, they could get up at the weekends, and go switch in the TV. They could probably have managed it before then, but this was when we tried it due to me being in my own for 3 months, and dealing with a stinking cold. I just needed a lie in, so tried it. They were very dissapointed the next morning when the same thing didn't happen!
I'm normally up by 6.30, after my "lie in". DH gets up about 10.....
I used to leave a snack breakfast out. Now, at 9 and 7 they get their own.

when dc were that age we left a snack out and the tv on a children's channel so that they only needed to switch on.

bliss

My daughter was always an early riser at that age and it didn't matter what time she went to bed, she always woke at the same time.
We did the milkshake snooze - she came in our bed, milkshake on the TV and I went back to sleep.
Then once she was about 5 she learned how to operate the TV downstairs and started just going down there.

My DD has been taking herself downstairs since she was five, she just switches on the tv and snuggles under a blanket. She usually gets hungry and wakes us about 8.30 on the weekend, that's fine by me!

By 4yo mine had a digital clock in their rooms and knew that they weren't to get up until the first number said 7.

Do people leave their 5 year olds to use iPads without monitoring them??? I've had 3 occasions where DS has been watching something innocent like Peppa Pig and awful images have been planted in the video. Both on YouTube and kids YouTube.

I can't believe parents would simply leave a 5 year old to it!!

DS is getting the the age where we could allow this, but of course we now have a newborn who scuppers those plans. So only another 5 years until I get a lie in 💤💤

Snack out, ipad and headphones! Either in his room or let him get in with you. But at 4.30 I'd be putting him back in bed and telling him to go to sleep. I'm quite smug with my four year old though as he'll sleep for as long as I tell him to . I'm allowed to be smug though as my two older DC were close in age and super early risers so you do have my sympathy.

At 3 onwards they werent allowed out of their bedroom til 7am. we used various
methods including the magic starlight ( normal light on a timer plug) and a digital clock and they had to wait for the 7. They weren't given a screen as a) we found they woke up earlier to play it and b) it made them grumpy bastards afterwards. They would generally look at books or play.

I disagree, he should be getting 12 hours sleep a night, and he should be going to bed at 7pm.
Try a clock that changes when he is allowed to leave the room (I think there is one with ears). I think 4 is a bit early to be downstairs on his own, can you go down and put a cartoon on, and snooze on the sofa?

Get him a simple clock, even a digital one and tell him that on Saturdays he’s not allowed to get up or disturb anyone else until the time starts with a 7. He can play in his room if he wants but he is not to wake you up.

We did this for a short spell and it worked well.

Our bring toys and play quietly in our room for an hour or two until they can’t tske it anymore and wake us up.

@hummanahummana I believe you can get children's iPads with far stricter settings that avoid these things.
Or you can download cartoons to Netflix instead of using YouTube.

My 2 year old can put on Netflix and choose a show so if he's up first (sometimes 5am) he'll get up, cosy under a blanket and watch tv until his big brother who's 6 gets up.

Oldest DS sometimes gets them cereal or we'll do it and go back to bed. He gets them juice too.

Our bedroom is across from the lounge with both doors open so they're not on another floor.

I'm all for teaching them to be independent

Oh god I remember it well. One reason to love my teenager

Gro clock, kindle, headphones.
See you after 7am.

I’d be totally happy to let my 6yo downstairs to watch tv but he gets scared apparently.

Ours have a rule that they can’t get out of their rooms until at least 7.30 at weekends, they can go downstairs from 8. From about age 3 (dependent on the sense of the child involved). Unfortunately, the thing that gets us out of bed now is the sibling fighting over what should be on the telly.

There is no way I'd have allowed a 4 yr old to watch TV unsupervised or go downstairs.

I think you need to teach him that he can't get up before 6.30 or whatever - can he tell the time yet?

Then if he wakes, as kids do, he reads a book or plays in his room.

BUT I think being awake by 6 am is pretty normal for kids that age.
Until they sleep longer you might need to change your own bedtimes and go to bed earlier.

When DS (2) wakes up at 6am we put him in the bed with us and the tablet and snooze for another half hour or so (turn off wifi and he can only watch downloads)

You missed option C) Teach your 4 year old how to turn the TV on and to find the cartoon channels on the guide, leave a snack & juice box out and let your child sort himself out until a more reasonable hour.

Between 4.30-6.30 sent straight back to bed, I've never let my kids get up for the day before 7 (probably 6.30 at a push in the summer) but then B, pretty sure my eldest was going downstairs to watch tv for a little bit at 4, certainly 5, my youngest was definitely 4 as he'd go with his big brother.

(My 5 year old still goes to bed at 7 btw, it's pushing towards 7.30 now)

If it's 4:30 (or anytime before 6am) then straight back to bed. Anything else is training poor sleep patterns in my view.

After 6 I pretty much get out of bed - DS is a sociable only child, so just setting him up with cartoons (which I would be happy to do) doesn't seem fair.

At 2 and 3, they understand that you won't get up. And either climb into bed with you or go back to own bed.

Have a rule and enforce it.

From 4 or 5 they can go watch cartoons themselves, fruit left out and a cup of milk or juice.